“Hope” is the thing with feathers
“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –
And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –
And sore must be the storm –
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm –
I’ve heard it in the chillest land –
And on the strangest Sea –
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me.
With thanks to: https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/42889/hope-is-the-thing-with-feathers-314
Emily Dickinson, “‘Hope’ is the Thing with Feathers” from The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson, edited by Thomas H. Johnson, ed., Cambridge, Mass.: The Belknap Press of Harvard University press, Copyright © 1951, 1955, 1979, 1983 by the President and Fellows of Harvard College.
Reprinted by permissions of the publishers and Trustees of Amherst College. Source: The Poems of Emily Dickinson Edited by R. W. Franklin (Harvard University Press, 1999)
Thank you, during this difficult time, it is wonderful to read a poem that touches the heart.
Many thanks Carole; so often concise thoughts can express so much.
Best wishes
Ruth Bailey
thank you Ruth
I often thought of this poem during the first lockdown and here we are again!
Thank you Sarah, we must hold on to hope even though it asks so little – or nothing- of us.
Best wishes
Ruth